FEELING HOT! HOT! HOT!

Sometimes, even in England, it’s really hot! Hard to believe, considering our reputation for endless grey rainy days, but for those of us that live here know that, although rare, even here it gets boiling! We are always writing things about how to keep warm on a motorcycle, but how hard is it to keep cool when the weather is actually nice and hot? The first cardinal rule is don’t be tempted to take all your protective gear off and ride in a vest, shorts and flip flops! It may seem unbearable to put on a helmet, jacket, boots and trousers but the danger of falling off and hurting yourself does not go away when it’s hot. Not to mention the tarmac getting hot and sticky and even more treacherous than usual so plenty of due care and attention is needed!

If you can, get yourself some vented riding gear which is purposely designed to keep you cool by creating airflow around your body. It really helps, so open those vents if you have them and see how much difference it makes.
Oh and don’t worry if your motorcycle clothing is black, it turns out that black is actually the best colour choice in hot weather as it absorbs the heat coming from your body rather than reflecting it back like white clothing. So if there’s a breeze which invariably there is on a moving motorcycle, you are better off in black – and you look cooler too, but that's obvious!

Try to keep your speed down. Make like people in hot countries and just chill. Racing around might feel cooler in the short term with the wind chill factor, but if you are working harder to control your bike at speed, you will be sweating more and generating more heat yourself. Slow down, you move too fast you got to make the morning last – and you’ll actually stay cooler that way.

Drink lots of water too, hydration is essential in sweaty weather. Take regular breaks to cool down, open your jacket and take your helmet off just to let some of the heat out. You will be losing a lot of moisture, so replace it all with water or any cold drink you like as dehydration is a very real risk on hot days and can affect your judgement and make you ill or dizzy. Similarly to cold weather where you need to make regular stops to warm up, schedule in extra journey time so that you can stop to cool down and have a drink – it’s just as important!

If your ride is for leisure purposes make the objective a great motorcycle friendly cafe or a beauty spot where you can take your gear off for a good length of time and cool down.